KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hendon Hooker signed some major name, image and likeness deals recently. One of them was with Mercedes-Benz of Knoxville and the other was with French's, a large mustard company.
Hooker was the first college athlete that French's ever signed such a deal with. The company commissioned a pair of mustard-yellow sneakers, paired with blue and red as seen on French's mustard bottles. The deal is meant to be a nod to when a wild game in 2021 resulted in a bottle of mustard being thrown onto the field.
Later, fans started asking players and coaches to autograph mustard bottles and the meme circulated through Vol Nation for months.
“I’ve been a huge fan of French’s my whole life, so it’s a dream to work with such an iconic brand," said Hooker in a press release. “I love that French’s has become part of our games, and this will be a fun opportunity to keep building that relationship with the community – not to mention raising my sneaker game.”
He also signed a name, image and likeness deal with Mercedes-Benz of Knoxville. As part of the deal, he will represent the company on social media and in advertisements.
“We felt that a high-performance athlete deserved a high-performance car,” said Lee Ann Furrow-Tolsma, the president of the company in a press release. “Our team was ecstatic to be able to support Hooker and see him benefit from his hard work. We can’t wait to cheer him on this weekend and for the rest of the season."